High Price of Repairing Sinkholes

Published April 24th, 2013

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MARION COUNTY-

Florida is prone to sinkholes especially the central part of the state.

Marion County is no stranger to sinkholes.

"In Marion County it's pretty much everywhere. We have lime rock all below use, all across the county. that lime rock being our floridian aquifer. It's filled with voids. These voids that have basically been eroded over millions of years," said Gail Mowry who is the Marion County Clean Water Engineer.

Mowry said the number of sinkholes vary each year.

"We've had years where we've had very little maybe some tens, but last year was definitely a big year. Two-hundred twenty-nine," said Mowry.

That's not including sinkholes on private properties.

"Many of them happened in the last half of the year after Tropical Storm Debby," said Mowry.

For example this giant sinkhole in the fore ranch subdivision.

The hole opened up last June and now 10 months later, crews are still working on repairing it.

Vickie Bissell with Foundation Services said the first phase of repairing a sinkhole is drilling pipes down to limestone.

"The second phase is actually pumping the compaction grout through each pipe down to the limestone layer, sealing of the limestone and then compacting the soils from the limestone to the bottom of the house," said Bissell.

In this case, crews are pumping about 800 yards of grout underneath the homes.

Projects like this can vary in price.

This one costing about $200,000.

"You have to check your insurance policy upon renewal and make sure it's included in there because they don't have to include it," said Bissell.

If you do have sinkhole insurance and don't see an actual hole, but you start to notice.